SSTI Digest

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As recently explored in an episode of This American Life, high-tech patent litigation has reached unprecedented proportions, with many research-oriented companies now joining the calls to restructure the patent system. This week, the White House released five executive orders and seven legislative recommendations to add transparency to the system and level the playing field for innovators. The executive orders require patents to name the real party-in-interest (as opposed to shell companies), call for stricter bounds on functional claims, limit the liability of end users, strengthen exclusion orders to ban the import of infringing products and begin a more extensive investigation of the current system. Read the White House announcement...

A report from authors Samantha Bradley, Christopher S. Hayter, and Albert N. Link explores the burgeoning role of proof-of-concept centers (PoCC) in supporting the country's innovation infrastructure. The report suggests that shifting dynamics in the global economy will continue to increase the importance of PoCCs in supporting regional innovation and national competitiveness. The authors define PoCCs as providing a specific set of services that stimulate the commercialization of early-stage technologies by improving the transfer of knowledge from universities and development of technologies derived from public R&D funding that boost economic development. Services include providing seed funding, business development services, incubator space, market research, IP and licensing services, and providing connections to outside funding sources. By enabling inventors to evaluate the commercial potential of their research, prototypes can be tested and early-stage products can be developed and connected to investment from private capital sources. The authors indicate a strong uptick in the formation of PoCCs beginning in 2007, both as a result of the Startup…

The current federal FY13 budget under sequestration will reduce the funding level for state aid by $5.1 billion from FY12, according to the study by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank focusing on low- and middle-income labor and economic policy. When including sequestration and funding levels under the current continuing resolution, 25 states and the District of Columbia will have federal grant funding reduced in FY13 compared to FY12, with the five highest states being Louisiana, Indiana, Maine, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The health and potential of a state's innovation ecosystem does not always directly correlate to current economic performance and overall job creation, despite media and policymakers' focus on such metrics. Although they vary across organizations and in scope, indices serve to assess states' assets and processes within their innovation ecosystems. Two recently published indices from the Milken Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation recognize innovation as a driver of economic growth, and provide comprehensive assessments of innovation data from 2012. The Milken Institute's State Technology and Science Index is the fifth version of index since its initial release in 2002. The authors used 79 indicators within the following five components of the index: Research and Development Inputs — includes federal and industry R&D figures, NSF funding, STTR/SBIR awards; Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure — includes VC investment, number of incubators, patents, business formation figures, and investment in cleantech, green tech, and nanotech; Human Capital Investment — includes state spending on…

As developed nations slowly rebuild economies damaged by the Great Recession, many are looking to innovation and manufacturing to spur their economic revival. Similar to President Obama's proposed National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (See the March 14, 2011 issue of the Digest), several foreign government are developing networks of manufacturing research and development (R&D) centers to strengthen the ties between research and industrial needs. Recently, the European Union (EU) announced a €100 million ($131 million US) commitment to establish five pilot advanced manufacturing R&D centers within its member states. The EU joins Australia and the United Kingdom in the list of countries that have proposed focused, large-scale, national networks in recent years. Australia In February, the Australian government announced that it would commit AUD $500 million ($475.7 million US) over four years to establish and support up to ten "Industry Innovation Precincts," according to a ScienceInsider article. As part of a new jobs and innovation package, these industry-led partnerships would help businesses and researchers collaborate, share…

Governor Mike Pence has released details on Indiana's statewide public-private collaborative life sciences partnership. The estimated $360 million Indiana Biosciences Research Institute will receive $25 million for the biennium from the state of Indiana to cover startup costs, which will be augmented by another $25 million from industry and philanthropic sources (see the May 8 issue). Industry partners will guide the institute's research and commercialization priorities, which will focus initially on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and nutrition. Teams led by research “Indiana Fellows” will share resources at the institute and work onsite at industry and university labs with academic and university scientists. Read the announcement...

The 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) U.S. Report by Babson College and Baruch College shows that the total early stage entrepreneurial activity in the country increased 13 percent, the highest rate since 1999 when GEM first began tracking entrepreneurship. Among the findings, GEM found that a diverse population of age, gender, and immigrant status exists in the entrepreneurship community. This infographic summarizes some of the key trends and conclusions on the entrepreneurial activity and community in the country. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also has released its Enterprising States report that assesses the entrepreneurial activity and strengths by state using a number of metrics. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor is an annual assessment of entrepreneurship activity across the world. Starting with its first report analyzing 10 countries in 1999, the 2013 report looks at nearly 70 countries. In its report on U.S. entrepreneurship, the average total early stage entrepreneurial activity rate is at 13 percent, which is the highest total since the survey began. First generation U.S. immigrants are more entrepreneurial than the nonimmigrants. Sixteen…

The University of Virginia has announced a six–month pilot initiative to fund early stage research via an exclusive crowdfunding portal. In partnership with USEED Inc, a crowdfunding startup focused on philanthropic fundraising for higher education, the U.Va. Innovation administered portal will allow alumni, donors and others to make targeted, tax-deductible donations in support of specific research and development projects. During the pilot initiative, the site (https://uva.useed.net/) will feature up to 10 translational research projects across a spectrum of research topics that include making life-saving water purification tools more widely available in rural areas of South Africa and a new forensic dye that will help medical professionals visualize sexual assault injuries more effectively on women of all skin tones. According to university officials, this is the first university-crowdfunding startup partnership that has led to the launch of a university–administered portal to support faculty-led research. Before the launch of Virginia's USEED, the University of Utah's Technology Commercialization Office announced a crowdfunding partnership with…

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island are collaborating to increase access to capital through the Build Ventures fund, a private early stage capital investment organization based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The fund helps entrepreneurs build startups and invests $1 to $5 million (CAD) per venture. The provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will both contribute $15 million (CAD) to the fund, while Prince Edward Island will provide $2.5 million (CAD). Together with private contributions, Build Ventures has raised $50 million (CAD).

Graduates of Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University have started or acquired businesses at double the national average rate among college graduates since 1996, according to a report released by the Michigan University Research Corridor (URC). About 19 percent of all graduates have started their own business, and these businesses were 1.5 times more likely than the national average to remain open over the past five years. URC attributes their success to the comprehensive entrepreneurial curriculum available at the corridor's institutions. Read the report...

The Department of Energy's guaranteed loan program has made headlines as automotive company Tesla paid back over $450 million in federal loans nine years ahead of schedule. Tesla's move highlights the potential of federal loan programs to support the growth of renewable energy industries by investing in companies that are developing new technologies such as lithium batteries and electric cars. Tesla announced last week that it will pay back immediately its outstanding balance of $451.8 million to the federal government, with interest, nine years ahead of schedule. The 2009 Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan originated from the Department of Defense but is part of the Department of Energy's portfolio of guaranteed loans. Tesla produced a quarterly profit for the first time this quarter, posting earnings of $11.2 million on $561.8 in revenues. Tesla had begun paying off the loan last year, but found the money to pay off the entire loan by raising over $1 billion in stock offerings this past month. The program orginally was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2005 with the intention of reducing financial costs for large-scale,…